Ask HN: Chicken and egg problem: Ideas on beating it?

One thing I've found is that potential customers can visualize hypothetical products nicely, and can be quite responsive, especially if you are solving a pain point for them. So, for example, you're already underway with your project, but I'd scale that mental impression back in any sales pitch. Call producers/product advertisers and describe what your potential product (now nothing more than an ambitious idea) could be like and ask their advice for further tailoring it to them. This allows them to see their benefit, and past your real world start up difficulties. Next, ask if you may contact them once you've got something solid going. Do this with both sides. Build up a list of contacts over a month or so, then tell everyone how many people you've got interested and that you're opening the initial sign-up page now! :)

Edit: Also, your homepage looks great, but I'd take off any solicitation for ads for yourself. I know that's what you get out of it, but you don't want to do anything which might scare away those first crucial users. One step at a time. :)

I would choose a very small niche. The chicken-and-egg problem disappears almost complete if you choose the niche small enough. This can be a movie category or a region, maybe the movie category is better in your case.

Because, if the niche is small enough, you will always be able to handle the short coming of the other (supply/demand) side in a realistic way, be it by cold calling or adwords or whatever.

I would stick with this niche for a while. You will have some first successful transactions, some success stories, some data you can use for statistics and pr, generate modest earnings, build up some ranking positions on google, etc... and you start understanding the numbers of your business, the conversion rate, etc..

And you will provide traction for your current users. Promoters that have signed up for the newsletter will regular receive some opportunities, and this is what counts to make your useres happy in a marketplace.

When your first niche is doing well, you can risk the next step, expand two other segements (categories). And repeat.

From my point of view, the critical thing is that you will loose a lot of ressources everytime you start acquiring new customers/segments. There will always be a mismatch of the demand-side and the supply-side. To be successfull, you needed to cover one segment by segment, otherwise you may run out of time and money before you get significant traction.

Hardly. Probably IRC too much.